Spring Hill man crushed to death by loader at Cemex plan

BROOKSVILLE — A Spring Hill man was killed at the Cemex cement plant on Wednesday after he was pinned against the cab of a semi truck by a front loader, the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office said.

Workers at the Cemex plant at 10311 Cement Plant Road in Brooksville tried to help Ismael Santana, 51, but he died of “catastrophic injuries” Wednesday morning at Bayfront Health Brooksville, the sheriff’s office said.
Cement silos tower over the Cemex plant in Brooksville. FILE

Investigators said the incident happened just before 9 a.m. when Santana, delivering the day’s first load of ash, was getting out of his truck, the sheriff’s office said.

The driver of a front-end loader apparently did not see Santana and backed into him while moving debris, pinning him against the cabin of his truck, the sheriff’s office said.

When emergency personnel arrived, Santana was on the ground, where Cemex workers tried to help him, the sheriff’s office said. He was pronounced dead at the hospital at 10:09 a.m., records said.

Several vehicles were parked in Santana’s driveway on Thursday, but people inside the house declined to comment.

James Morris, manager of aggregate resources for Cemex, also declined to comment.

Classified as an accident, the incident is being investigated by the sheriff’s office and the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

Santana’s death was the 16th mine fatality in the nation this year, according to the MSHA. It is the first such incident this year in Florida, MSHA records show.